Lights, camera, infection: HACKERS get Bollywood makeover

Virus comedy-thriller but no sign of Angelina Jolie, boo

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Bollywood producers have announced plans to make a malware-themed movie.

The comedy-thriller titled Mickey Virus is set in Delhi and the plot revolves around hackers and computer virus infections. The film, due out later this year, will reportedly star local TV anchorman Manish Paul in his big screen debut.

It's unclear how the song-and-dance numbers that are a hallmark of Bollywood will be woven into the flick. The actual business of computer security research involves poring over pages of disassembledcode and hexadecimal, fiddling with debuggers, late nights and many other activities that aren't particularly telegenic nor cinematic. Western TV and film about cybercrime are often off-base, preferring to summarise malware attacks with rapid bursts of typing followed by 3D animations indicating success.

Real-world computer crimes have inspired films: for example Subject: I love you was loosely based on the Love Bug worm outbreak. Instead of featuring global email server meltdown, as in real life, the film depicted the malware as a means for two young lovers to reunite.

"Let's hope that Mickey Virus does not glamourise or trivialise hacking and malware creation too much," said Graham Cluley, senior security consultant at Sophos, in a blog post about the upcoming flick. ®